Here we are once again, my favorite sports tournament in the whole world ever begins. Well, it's actually 8 months away...but the groups draw was today and it was as interesting as always: Mexico drew Argentina (our boogey-man), Poland and Saudi Arabia. I think we can advance as always but then France will knock us out in the second round. The US play England again, alongside Iran and the winner of the European playoff (I think it will be Wales). I also think you can advance alongside England and then get a favorable draw with the winner of Group A who will probably be the Netherlands. I'm ready to gamble all my christmas bonus away. Can't wait XD For my money, the final will be England vs. France and France will be crown champions again.
World Cup starts on Sunday!! Wake up, everybody!! It's World Cup time!! I hate that it's in november. I hate that it's in a country so far away that games will be at 4am and 7am. I just hate FIFA and their incompetence and curruption but it is what it is. For the first time in my life, I have 0 expectations for the Mexican team. I don't even know half the roster...who are those guys? The quicker they're eliminated, the better, so I can focus on real powerhouses like Belgium, France, England or Brazil...no, not Argentina. F*** Argentina. I have even placed my first bets...but forgot the odds so I have to check again, so I'll share later XD. Right...US opens against Wales. They'll lose. Don't bother. Then they'll play England. They'll lose. Then Iran. They might win but it will be too late. See you in the flight home.
50 misserable pesos on: Ecuador over Qatar (+120) Wales over USA (+190) Mexico over Poland (+160) BECAUSE I CAN'T HELP MYSELF, I'M A HOMER!!! Parlay: Netherlands over Senegal and England over Iran(-106) Parlay: France over Australia and Denmark over Tunisia (-134) Depending on how this goes, I'll do more...the game missing on the first 3 days is Argentina vs. Saudi Arabia which I expect Argentina to win 10-0. It pays like -1400, not worth it. Not picking ties which I expect to bite me in the end...
My takes after the first 2 days and 3 games and change (USA vs Wales right now). Qatar is a disgrace as a country, as a host and as a football team. I never saw a home team be that outmatched in a World Cup and they were playing one of the weak teams!! FIFA made it easy for them and they looked lost. England are the real deal. One of my top 3 favorites for a reason. They walked all over Iran which is a top 20 ranked team. If you leave the Netherlands a little breathing room, they'll beat you. Great game by Senegal but one mistake in the end cost them. I still expect them to advance in second place. It will come dowon to the Ecuador match. USA and Wales after 20 minutes looks evenly matched. The Wales keeper is a hero already.
In the end it was a 1-1 draw which I think it's fair but sucks. I don't like draws. I'm very "americanized".
The first shocker of the World Cup and probably the biggest one in 30 years: Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1. That's amazing. Last week a Saudi win paid +1400. I really expected Argentina to cruise to a 10-0 victory. Now I'm convinced Mexico will be three and done in the tournament...
I was only able to watch the first half of the USA game. I thought they were going to cruise to victory. I was very disappointed to hear it ended in a tie.
Just when I thought I was out, they sucked me back in. I'm both pleased and disappointed by the Mexican team. Pleased because they played way, way, WAY better than everybody expected, and disappointed because this was a very winnable game and 0-0 draws are the worst. Now we face Argentina who suddenly don't look like juggernauts anymore and I'm still pessimistic.
Yet another upset!! Japan has defeated their old pals Germany. Well, not sure if it's an upset. Germany has not won a World Cup match since the 2014 final. Mexico and Korea beat them in Russia. The old Germany that scared everyone is long gone...
I'm 2 for 5. It's actually 2 for 8 because of 3 other bets I made that lost (Thanks, Germany and Croatia). This world cup has been harder to predict than usual. My latest attempt is a Spain - Belgium parlay and Spain is already leading. It only pays -118 though...
I've seen enough. Canada is the best CONCACAF team in the World Cup. They're playing Belgium (top 3 in the world) so hard...nobody was expecting this. They will be a pain in the butt for the next decade in the area. Costa Rica is the same, only the exact opposite.
The World Cup sucks when your team does bad and the teams you hate do good. It used to be Mexico advancing to the second round, and USA and the rest eliminated!! Oh, well..let's put us out of our misery tomorrow. Not sure if I'll root for England or Spain...not France, it would be like rooting for the Patriots in the 00s. It will be the first world cup in my lifetime in which Mexico doesn't make it past the first round. It was a great run, only beaten by Brazil.
I was so proud of that streak. Only Brazil has more consecutive World Cups advancing to the second round. Like I said, we had a good run. Today's victory is really a loss. They could've scored the 4 they needed and even more but they just didn't have it. And now we're not even the best or second-best team in CONCACAF anymore. A very dark age is coming...
Here are my second round picks. Tomorrow will be HATE DAY. The two teams I hate the most will be eliminated and I will be so happy... Netherlands over USA Australia over Argentina (Australia pays +1600 HATER TJ UPSET SPECIAL!!!) Japan over Croatia Brazil over Korea England over Senegal France over Poland Portugal over Switzerland Spain over Morocco I still see either France, England or Brazil as eventual World Champions. The best part of the World Cup begins!!!
Frustrating loss by USA. So many chances. I guess now I'll have to wait another couple of years to watch soccer again...haha.
I'm 3 for 5 so far. Australia was a longshot and I was picking mor against Argentina than for them, but I really thought Japan would pull the upset. They remind me a lot of the Mexican team from '94...the first one I saw. Young, inexperienced, and falling short against a side with way more experience but not necessarily better than them. Looks like all 8 favorites (Brazil, Portugal and Spain remain) will advance. If there's no upset in the second round after such an open first round, that will be the biggest upset.
